Without Fail - Lee Child [135]
“So what’s your conclusion?”
“I just think the early phase was extraordinary. The messages? Think about the risks. Think about the energy required to minimize those risks. They put unbelievable resources into the early phase. So I have to assume they felt it was worthwhile.”
“But it wasn’t,” Neagley said. “Armstrong has never even seen any of the messages. They were wasting their time.”
“Simple ignorance,” Swain said. “Were you aware we absolutely won’t discuss threats with a protectee?”
“No,” Neagley said. “I was surprised.”
“Nobody’s aware,” Swain said. “Everybody’s surprised. These guys thought they were getting right to him. So I’m convinced it’s personal. Aimed at him, not us.”
“So are we,” Reacher said. “You got a specific reason?”
“You’ll think I’m naive,” Swain said. “But I don’t believe anybody who works or has worked for us would have killed the other two Armstrongs. Not just like that.”
Reacher shrugged. “Maybe you’re naive. Maybe you aren’t. But it doesn’t matter. We’re convinced anyway.”
“What’s your reason?”
“The hyphen in the second message.”
“The hyphen?” Swain said. Then he paused. “Yes, I see. Plausible, but a little circumstantial, wouldn’t you say?”
“Whatever, we’re working with the assumption it was personal.”
“OK, but why? Only possible answer is they absolutely hate him. They wanted to taunt him, scare him, make him suffer first. Just shooting him isn’t enough for them.”
“So who are they? Who hates him that bad?”
Swain made a gesture with his hand, like he was pushing that question aside.
“Something else,” he said. “This is a little off the wall, but I think we’re miscounting. How many messages have there been?”
“Six,” Reacher said.
“No,” Swain said. “I think there have been seven.”
“Where’s the seventh?”
“Nendick,” Swain said. “I think Nendick delivered the second message, and was the third message. You see, you got here and forty-eight hours later you got to Nendick, which was pretty quick. But with respect, we’d have gotten there anyway, sooner or later. It was inevitable. If it wasn’t the cleaners, it had to be the tapes. So we’d have gotten there. And what was waiting for us? Nendick wasn’t just a delivery system. He was a message in himself. He showed what these people are capable of. Assuming Armstrong was in the loop, he’d have been getting pretty shaky by that point.”
“Then there are nine messages,” Neagley said. “On that basis, we should add in the Minnesota and the Colorado situations.”
“Absolutely,” Swain said. “You see what I mean? Everything has fear as its purpose. Every single thing. Suppose Armstrong was in the loop all along. He gets the first message, he’s worried. We get the second message, he’s more worried. We trace its source, and he starts to feel better, but no, it gets even worse, because we find Nendick paralyzed with fear. Then we get the demonstration threat, he’s worried some more. Then the demonstration happens, and he’s devastated by how ruthless it was.”
Reacher said nothing. Just stared at the floor.
“You think I’m overanalytical,” Swain said.
Reacher shook his head, still looking at the floor. “No, I think I’m underanalytical. Maybe. Possibly. Because what are the thumbprints about?”
“They’re a taunt of a different sort,” Swain said. “They’re a boast. A puzzle. A tease. Can’t catch me sort of thing.”
“How long did you work with my brother?”
“Five years. I worked for him, really. I say with him as a vain attempt at status.”
“Was he a good boss?”
“He was a great boss,” Swain said. “Great guy all around.”
“And he ran random-observation sessions?”
Swain nodded. “They were fun. Anybody could say anything.”
“Did he join in?”
“He was very lateral.”
Reacher looked up. “You just said everything has fear as its purpose, every single thing. Then you said the thumbprints are a taunt of a different